It’s one of those days or weeks where you just don’t want to get up in the mornings.  The idea of going back to your routine days and routine work with routine outcomes is enough to make your brain shut down entirely.  The day passes slowly, your brain feels sluggish, your body feels even worse and the clock is ticking away in reverse.

It has happened to me,  I felt feel like a slug on a stone in the middle of a freeway at rush hour.  Everything was whirling on around me but I had  hit the wall.

What happened?  How is it possible to go from total enthusiasm to perfect demotivation so quickly?

You’ve got two choices, really.  Quit or change something, and sometimes you just don’t want to give up.

I found three ways that I could get myself moving again and perhaps they will help you, too.

1.  Just do something.

If paralysis has got you, there is no point in sitting there worrying about it.  The longer you sit there, the worse it gets.  While you are stuck, your brain has a wonderful opportunity to talk you down and make you feel guilty and stressed about the situation.  Just do something.  Get up and move.  Take the dog for a walk.  Do some filing.  Look for a new recipe.  It doesn’t matter what you do.  The important thing is to be moving and that will shut down that voice in your head for a while.  You know, it takes energy to create energy.  Once you start to move you will begin to feel better and your focus will come back.

2.  Pull out the coloured textas.

Maybe it’s just me but I have been addicted to big chunky textas since my training days.  The look, the feel, the smell and that lovely, thick line across the butchers paper…

OK, pulling myself together now.

I find pen and paper planning sessions pretty dull, but using butchers paper with big, bold colour you set my mind free.  Drawing or painting or mind-mapping your goals makes them look different.  They aren’t so “businesslike”.  It’s like taking the suit off a CEO and putting him into colourful shorts and shirts: you still see him but he looks totally different.  Adding a little fun to the process unlocks your brain and gets it moving again.  Funnily enough, it’s times like this that you will have your best ideas.

3.  Do it somewhere else.

There is no doubt that when you go to your desk, you put on your desk mindset. It’s a habit that you’ve developed that helps you work professionally.  When I am really stuck for an idea or just blocked by that wall, I go elsewhere.  Sitting in the garden or at the coffee shop helps free my mind.  I leave the rigidity of the professional mindset behind.   Let your creative self come out to play and you’ll be reinvigorated.

“There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression. That’s what happens to me every day. My thoughts get off my chest, down my sleeves and onto my pad.”
-Garson Kanin

So, when you are facing that wall, pull out your coloured markers, grab a coffee and start drawing all over it.  🙂